Linger
by Eowyn Rivers
Summary: Peace at last in Westeros. Stannis, and Selyse, are King and Queen of the realm: to seal this fragile peace, an alliance between the North and the South is settled: Sansa Stark, seventeen, will marry Willas Tyrell, twenty-nine, the ceremony taking place in Riverrun. -Willas was as they had described, calm and kind. But is that really enough?
1. Chapter 1

This is a "pov only" chapter. The next one won't be pov, classic narrative and the one after "pov only" etc :)  
"Linger" is a song by the Cranberries, the lyrics gave me the idea for this fic :)

* * *

**Stannis**

Have people ever seen me smile before today? I cannot let them think I am some ersatz of Robert, no, I will not lie to them.

Now that my smile has faded away, they can see who their King is. I am not kind or...funny. But I do believe that I shall be just. I'll be the king they need, the one they deserve.

Peace is fragile and the North and the South must show the realm their new alliance. Since Brandon Stark is bethroted to my daughter, Shireen, it will be his sister, Sansa. She will wed Willas Tyrell, the heir of the Reach.

Selyse, beside me, doesn't smile either. She stays silent, her eyes staring at the crowd in front of us. We were never a perfect couple but she will be a decent queen. We shall rule this kingdom until our death free us from our duty. Our only design.

The Stark girl and the Tyrell boy may not love each other but there can be so much more in a couple than love. One can find friendship, affection and an adviser in un anwanted match. But there is no time for foolish thoughts. Soon they'll put the crown on my head, and I will have to lead this shapeless mass of childish souls

**Edmure**

"Soon she will be here... You know Roslin, it will be the second time I see her, in my entire life."

"When was the first?"

"When she was...I'm not really sure...Two? Three? I don't remember."

She had been such a calm baby, so different than Catelyn, sleeping in the nursery. I like to think that Roslin and Sansa will get along well but...Her brother and her mother were slaughtered my her father...

"What are you doing Edmure? Don't you want to join me in the bed? You know, when Riverrun will be crowded by people coming for the wedding, we won't have a lot of time for us, if you know what I mean..."

"Oh, innocent woman... I always know what you mean."

**Sansa**

I don't want to marry him. I don't want to marry Willas Tyrell. They had tried once, and I had ended up marrying Tyrion Lannister. They had told me he was nice and kind and calm and boring. I need calmness in my life, I know it, and yet, I need more than a pretty knight in shining armor offering flowers... I need someone who can protect me, someone who will see me as I am: damaged and broken. How will he able to repair me?

He won't. I'll have to take care of that myself.

And they say the ceremony will take place at noon. But I don't wanna see the light, I want, I want a sunset and fresh air and rain. I don't want everything to be perfect... I can feel the tears falling from my eyes and running on my cheeks and yet I cannot believe that I am crying.

No. Not anymore.

I might feel wounded inside, I cannot let them know, they would never understand...

**Willas**

She will like me. Yes she will. I prayed so hard to the gods, waiting with fear this moment. What will I do if she doesn't like me?

What does she even know of me? Maybe some kind of cripple who does nothing but reading and looking at flowers all day long... I will prove her I am nothing of what they say.

I will show her what hides in the heart of a man who suffered all his life.

**Sansa**

He is here now, before me, in his Tyrell green clothes. He looks taller and older than me. But not too old. He's neither better or worse than I expected. He is just, just a man, with a broken leg and a shy smile on his lips. If I was Arya I would have told him that I was the one supposed to be the shy maiden. But I'm not Arya, and I haven't smiled or laugh for what it seems an eternity. My uncle is beside him, smiling fiercely like his small wife. Roslin _Frey_. I don't even have the courage to mad at her or at her family. I am so so tired of this pointless life. _Make it end_... My last prayer

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As usual, sorry for everything this is bad etc etc  
I know I like to focus on the character's thoughts and it's difficult to read/understand. Hope it wasn't too unpleasant. If it was please accept my apologizes.


	2. Don't let it burn, don't let it fade

Like I love putting music in my fic...  
The first one is at the beginning youtube watch?v=NJ9xqBsROBQ  
And at the end youtube watch?v=m0IiPwwdw4I&list=PLSJm1V-GFyJ2O5aQRnBeO67WqpfexxXly&index=11

They had given Sansa a grey dress, with long sleeves and fur around the neck. Her hair was loose, falling on her shoulders. Neither Willas nor Sansa were smiling. No one in the sept did. Edmure looked worried, Roslin was desperately trying to make Catelyn quiet and Garlan and Leonette were staring at the ground, knowing they were attending the saddest wedding they had ever seen.

And yet daylight was blinding them all.

* * *

There was once a young girl, noble of heart, charming and pretty and of great worth, against her will she was made a silent sister; this doesn't please her at all, so she lives in great pain.

Two young girls were singing this sad melody, echoing in Sansa's heart. _They have made me a silent sister, forced to smile and please. Forced to watch my world falling apart without saying a word. And tonight I will be the wife of a man I know nothing about. Yes he was handsome and if...if my life had been a quiet river, I would have loved this man, with his smile and his gentle manners. But my life was never peaceful and I will never love him. One day I might appreciate him but love? How can one love without a heart?_

Next to her, her husband was staring at his glass of wine. He had no desire to get drunk on his wedding night, but oddly enough his leg was hurting more than usual. He knew what it meant: a very uncomfortable wedding night.

He was now looking at his wife, in her beautiful silver dress, matching perfectly with her red hair. She was beautiful. _If one day I make her smile, we will be the most beautiful couple the realm would have ever seen._

But many had tried to make her smile and they had won nothing but the deep knowledge that nothing, yes nothing, would make her smile but the recollection of the past.

"Time to bed them!"

"Please Edmure stop! You're embarrassing yourself!"

"Shhhhh... Who is speaking? Are you my lady a lake on a summer night so that I drown myself in your soft eyes? There is no sweeter way to die!"

"Edmure stop. Now."

"Quiet woman! It's time for the young lovers to make this wedding a legit one! Ladies, take off his clothes!"

Roslin was staring at her husband with the same look she had when Catelyn was being a very annoying baby.

"What, dear wife, what did I say AGAIN?"

"You will never again call me "woman!" in front of people. Never. I am going to sleep now. Please don't follow me." Roslin was speaking very slowly with her usual high voice.

* * *

"You can, you can remove your dress. If you want to of course! I do not wish to force you."

Sansa quickly removed her dress, getting rid of that absurd piece of cloth. I have nothing left but my body. Let's get rid of that too.

"I do not fear pain, my lord husband. You do not have to lie to comfort me."

"And I only desire to tell you the truth my lady. Please, follow me in the bed. It is time for us to do our duty."

They were not smiling, speaking so seriously.

The moonlight was allowing Willas to see through Sansa's thin shirt. She was beautiful, there was no doubt, and yet she was not a woman, only a young girl you find beautiful from afar but would never consider inviting to your bed.

"Listen. I like the music." For the first time of the day Sansa appeared fascinated by something. She was standing still, her eyes staring at the wall, where the music came from.

_Are you going to Scarborough Fair?_ She slowly removed her shirt, revealing her naked skin to Willas's eyes. _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,_Following her he sat on the bed not to hurt his leg and removed his clothes._ Remember me to one who lives there,_ They were now in the bed, trying to avoid each other's eyes, trying to hide, not their body, but their faces. _She once was a true love of mine_. For who would like to spend their wedding night with a corpse?

* * *

Sansa Stark and Willas Tyrell. The names sounded pleasant together. They were beautiful laying next to each other. And still when their "duty" had been done, the bloodied sheets, the tears in Sansa's eyes, and the regretful look of Willas could not announce much more but a cold, sad and loveless match.

There was once a young girl, noble of heart, charming and pretty and of great worth, against her will she was made a silent sister; this doesn't please her at all, so she lives in great pain.

* * *

As usual, sorry for everything this is bad etc etc  
I know I like to focus on the character's thoughts and it's difficult to read/understand. Hope it wasn't too unpleasant. If it was please accept my apologizes.


	3. As a lily among thorns

A song I was thinking of when writing  
youtube watch?v=TpZYctXCBdY

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**Sansa**

No he wasn't violent. He was gentle, as they had said. And maybe it was what made things worse. He wanted so hard not to hurt me that he forgot I was there. I was no longer a human being he could share this moment with, I was no one. He closed his eyes. Didn't he want to see me? I wouldn't have wanted to see me neither. And yet I watched his face contort, his mouth and his teeth kept tight not to scream. But I was the one who had to scream, wasn't I?

Then when he was finished, he laid down beside me, forgetting I was there, giving up on life in a sleep softer than death.

And for the second time of the day I cried. I wished... If only he had asked me about my feelings, about my tastes, why I wanted to listen to the music... But instead he did what he was supposed to do: he was the quiet man, the one who doesn't ask or wonder, who wishes no harm to anyone, thinking only about my physical pain. Unaware of my hatred for the gloves people put on when they want to lie.

If we cannot be lovers, what will we be? Friends?

They ripped me out of Winterfell. Teared me apart from Bran, Arya and Rickon to make me marry him. How could we ever be friends?

**Willas**

The gardens of Riverrun were maybe not as beautiful as the gardens of Highgarden but they has this persistent and tender smell of freshwater that could soothe any man's heart.

Well.

Maybe not any woman.

She was beside me, walking in the garden of Riverrun, before our departure in the afternoon.

"I believe you will enjoy Highgarden. It's a magnificient place, you'll see. And we'll be alone the first week: the rest of the family visiting the Hightowers. Garlan will join us with Leonette later."

"Do you play music?"

I wasn't expecting such a question, but what could I expect from her?

"I do."

She stopped walking.

"You do?"

"Yes, do you?"

"I learnt to play viola, two years ago. It, it has been since a great source of soothing."

"I play viola too. There is in Highgarden a very small room where I enjoy playing viola, with a view on the garden. It's pretty dark but if one wants to find peace it is the ideal place."

"I like dark and small rooms."

She was close to me, now.

And I was smiling. I believe she was too.

**Sansa**

"M'lord we will stop here for the night. It's a small inn, but they will give you and Lady Sansa the best room they have!"

The road had been very tiring, but caught under the heavy furs, it reminded me of Winterfell. How warm! How pleasant!

Willas with his broken leg, had decided to stay with me during the trip. Oddly enough, when I woke up, my head was on his shoulder.

"Are you hungry?"

"No, I ate enough on the road."

I just want to be once again in a bed with furs, and a fire, and sleep, sleep, sleep...

"Well then let's go to sleep!"

"Oh wait Willas... Can we take the small package I have left behind?"

"Well... Of course. Anything you want."

"Thank you."

They hadn't put furs on the bed. I was freezind and shivering from the cold.

Willas too.

"Do you want me to go and ask for furs?"

"No, no... Don't bother..."

Then I felt his fingers on my shoulders. He wanted to warm but didn't know if he could. Always gentle Willas Tyrell.

"Please do."

He took me in his arms and kept me tight all night.

I had forgotten what it felt like. Another human being touching me.

It felt like heaven.

I don't want him to leave my body, ever. I want him to stay next to me, protecting me from the cold, protecting me from this suicidal loneliness I inflict to myself.

_ A pretty nymph was sleeping on a green meadow richly adorned with many flowers. _  
_The sweet sleep _  
_of this creature _  
_vanquished even nature in beauty, I thought.  
_

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Please please please tell me what you think :) 


	4. Chaos philosophy

So you will find in the chapter two of those things " * "  
When you see the first one you have to listen to this: watch?v=lUjY8MveRwE  
When you see the second one you have to listen to this: watch?v=v_kPcArH02s

Hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

It was raining outside. Not a stormy rain, but an autumn one, when the water drops fall on the red leaves of trees. There was no one outside, or inside the castle. They had all disappeared. Only remained Sansa and Willas in his cabinet, the large windows offering them the view of the wet roses and the dancing leaves of weeping willows. Willas was teaching Sansa how to play viola. She had learnt how to play music, but Willas wanted her to be a musician, someone who could take an instrument and make it the source of melodious sounds, so beautiful one could feel them in every inch of his body and control every of his moves.

"No. Again."

He was calm and quiet. But he was serious and strict too.

"Your fingers."

And she was playing, always playing, thinking only about the music. _Not good enough._

"Stop. And listen" *

His hands wandered on the viola for a while. He played, softly at first, a melody she had never heard. The rhythm got faster, his eyes always staring at his own hands, ordering them to produce the most beautiful sound in the world. When he had played his last note Sansa understood. He was a musician.

"How?" asked she

"Discipline. If you listen to me, if you do what I ask, you will, one day, be a musician. Discipline."

"Whatever it takes. I want to, like you do, take an instrument, and make it mine. Making it saying for me, my deepest emotions."

"You will. I promise."

She was wearing a light dress, and yet it seemed still to heavy for her. She needed space, more space to let her move her arms, the way she wanted. _Playing a music is physical_, thought she.

They just played and played for an hour, maybe two.

"Stop, stop..."

"Why? Am I not doing it right, I thought..."

"No, no, no. It's not you. It's your rhythm."

He let the viola, stood up and took her arm.

"What are you going to do?"

"Play the one for the Braavosi Ceremony please" *

"Yes."

She took the instrument and started playing. Willas, in front of her, raised his hands and began to make his fingers dance at the rhythm of the music. The fingers moved, one by one, until the hand and the arm joined them. His face so still and serious he kept dancing with his arms, and hands and fingers, and his leg. One step, two steps, three steps, raising hands. He suffered, yes, but he wanted her to understand.

Always following the rhythm.

"You see Sansa, it's the rhythm which will give the music you play, harmony. And without harmony, you cannot call it music. I will teach you, Sansa, harmony and rhyhtm."

"I would do anything to learn it."

He laughed. "Haha, would you?"

"Yes."

"If you insist, my sweet wife, I will teach you how to make music, the way I was taught."

"Who taught you?"

"A woman. She was older than me. She taught me the subtility of music, of emotions, she taught me to touch a viola as you touch your lover's body.. This is why, Sansa, I do not think you are ready for this."

He was looking at her, on her chair, as she was staring at the window behind her. Avoiding his gaze.

"I am. And I will."

* * *

THIS IS NOT TURNING INTO A 50 SHADES OF SHIT BDSM THING  
BREATHE  
BREATHE


End file.
